Language, Religion, and Indigenous Identity
Dr. Abelardo de la Cruz
This February, the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures welcomed author Dr. Abelardo de la Cruz, a Nahua scholar and Instructor of Nahuatl language in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at the University of Utah. On February 20th, Dr. de la Cruz delivered his lecture, “Language, Religion, and Indigenous Identity”, where he presented his forthcoming book chapter, titled "Language, Life-Cycle Rituals, and Indigenous Identity" exploring contemporary religious rituals in Nahuatl discourse. Dr. de la Cruz also held a morning Nahuatl Language lesson for all interested students and faculty.
Nahuatl, a primary indigenous language of Mesoamerica, was the language of the Aztec and Toltec civilizations. Nahuatl is a member of the Uto-Aztecan languages, one of the largest linguistic families in the Americas in terms of number of speakers, number of languages, and geographic extension that spanned from present-day Oregon to Panama. Today, the Nahuatl language continues to thrive and is still preserved by over a million people in Mexico.
"[H]is work sheds light on the resilience of indigenous people who persistently preserve their cultural heritage amidst sociocultural pressures."
"Dr. Abelardo de la Cruz’s presentation was a valuable opportunity to stimulate interest in Indigenous studies at the University of Michigan," said Donghoon Lee, a Ph.D. candidate in RLL's Italian doctoral program. "As one of the few native Nahua scholars, he provides an insider’s viewpoint on contemporary Nahua culture. His research, focused on ritual specialists in rural Mexico, underscores that the interaction between European and indigenous cultures is not a thing of the past but rather a continuing reality. Most significantly, his work sheds light on the resilience of indigenous people who persistently preserve their cultural heritage amidst sociocultural pressures."
Dr. de la Cruz is the co-author of In Citlalmachiyotl. The Star Sign. A Colonial Drama of the Three Kings (2017). He recently published a chapter titled "The value of el costumbre and Christianity in the Discourse of Nahua Catechists from the Huasteca Region" in Words and Worlds Turned Around: Indigenous Christianities in Colonial Latin America. He also serves as a collaborator in the project titled "Passion Plays of Eighteenth-Century Mexico" sponsored by the National Endowment for Humanities.
Today, the Nahuatl language continues to thrive and is still preserved by over a million people in Mexico.
A native speaker of Nahuatl from Tepoxteco, Chicontepec in the north of Veracruz, Mexico, Abelardo de la Cruz's fields of interest include the teaching of Nahuatl as a second language, the folk tales, and the Nahua religion led by catechists and prayer specialists known as “motiochihuanih” from northern Veracruz. He has worked as a researcher with the Instituto de Docencia e Investigación Etnológica de Zacatecas (IDIEZ). IDIEZ instructors also teach the Nahuatl language courses offered here at the University of Michigan and at other institutions across the nation.
Dr. de la Cruz received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the State University of New York (SUNY) in Albany. He received his master’s degree in Humanistic and Educational Research in 2015 and a bachelor’s degree in law in 2012 from the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (UAZ).
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Every single gift matters in RLL. Your generosity allows RLL students to experience the world.
From funding to support international programs to events with leading scholars from around the world, RLL continues to create opportunities for students to explore the world around them and to prepare for their future as global citizens.
With your help, we can continue to open doors and minds. Learn how your gift can make a difference.
